SALONE DEL MOBILE 2022: ALL GATHER UP!

The press presentation conference for the 60th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano (in central image above), opened to the entire design community last week. Chaired by Luca Dondoni and opened by the Mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala, was the harbinger of many new things, discussed by Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano and the protagonists of the Salone, scheduled for this June 2022, from the 7th to the 12th of that month. 

Open, humanitarian, more aware than ever of the issues and the challenges of the Here & Now, inclusive of the whole Design industry  and eventually concluding to Society apart from just being THE major trade fair of the sector, Salone came a long way, since last year and every other year after its inauguration 60 years ago. Last year was already the beginning of many great things with the introduction of Supersalone and the launch of the digital fair, next to the physical exhibition we are all familiar with. A huge success of unprecedented caliber, Supersalone alone generated about 5 billion euro, with an overall turnover for the whole furnishing and lighting sector macrosystem of 26 billion euro in 2021-(which puts Italy in the 1st place of EU exports again)- proving once more that the end of important fairs is far from happening any time soon, nevertheless their success depends on the multiple ways used to re-invent those fairs and adjust them to the needs of every era.  

“Politics have to take a step back, exhibitions similar to the Salone are more important than limited and stale political rivalries. In Italy and more specifically in Milan we acknowledged the need to continue working with the same insatiable desire for creation, the same work ethics and live for this incredible Momentum”. 

Stefano Bolognini, Councilor for Social Policies, Municipality of Milan, Lombardy, IT

From the confirmation of a live event, packed with brands giving free rein to their creative powers of expression, to the “wow” worlds, the theatre, the stands, both simple and complex, but all equally brilliant, and the biennials - EuroCucina with FTK – Technology for the Future and the International Bathroom Exhibition - which accompany the annual events: the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, Workplace3.0, S.Project and SaloneSatellite. 

From two great installations – one in the city and the other at the fairgrounds – dedicated respectively to celebrating the key values of the Salone and the issue of sustainability, ecological transition and the future of living with respect for the planet, which will be unveiled by  Davide Rampello and by Mario Cucinella, to the creative partnership with Emiliano Ponzi, the world-famous illustrator and creator of six illustrations (2 shortcuts of the Ponzi universe 4 Salone just bellow), forming the captivating communication campaign for this edition of the Salone.   

“Sustainability, reducing the environmental footprint, use appropriated materials (mango cellulose, fishtail-based-fibre) among others, introduce accessibility for instance  to visitors with visual impairment such as Braille in every public inscription or signage of goods inside the exhibition area, are only a few things we are working on in order to align Salone with services provision for all visitors, exhibitors, operators, traders, press officers.” 

Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano 

In pictures bellow: Architect Mario Cucinella explains his visions of planetary transition and the future interconnection of City and Housing through the installation project Design with Nature. A shortcut of the inductive visual narrative demonstrating 11 Values of the Salone-11 Films made especially for the Salone 60th Edition by its artistic director Davide Rampello and 10 other prominent film-makers/artists. 

On the topic of Salone Satellite, an invaluable springboard, discussed by renown designers and old participants of the Satellite, Cristina Celestino (in picture bellow) and Sebastian Herkner. As an institution Salone Satellite continues to promote the work of young designers under 30 years old, as much as the collective production of design schools and universities worldwide, through the spectrum of Sustainability=Respect 2 Our Future Selves. 

Designing sustainability, celebrating beauty, declaring Opportunities and not Opportunism, triggering the Diplomacy of (creative) People all around the world, Salone is waiting for YOU out there, your physical or digital presence, contributing with the best of your abilities: your inner vision for Peace and ethical, quality business and commerce.  

A last Salone quote back in 2016, our 2nd year there, directly from those endless Marathon-like fairgrounds at the Fiera Milano- Rho premises (NOT for the fainthearted):  

“People ask us (the Italians), how did we do it, how did we make it back then? The launch of a design week and a furniture fair 60 years ago is not the point. The Point is: keep going, keep walking and try to offer the Very Best you Can Produce & Create, year after year, against all odds.” 

Salone will be waiting for you on these screens OR in Milan OR at both sites. 

Stay tuned! #insalonewetrust  #gatherings  #Issalonestrongerthanus 

A4D-D4A 💙💚🙌

CAN WE, SHALL WE, WANT WE>>BUY MORE & HOW? DESIGN THE FUTURE OF SALES, (powered by Globant + Tech UK).

In photo above: Delivery drone by Roland Berger. 

How can we program and design sales in the digital ecosystem of the future? In the currently saturated West-meets-East commercial environment online/offline and a War of the Worlds when it comes to market control, the future of sales needs to be readdressed and  re-mapped under new standards. Digital reality bites, with the consumer hammered by lack of personalization and fragmentation of services leading to irrelevant product proposals and a repetitive approach in marketing far from precision techniques liaising client per product. Smart tech intergration and adopting digital reinvention as a model is imperative for sales survival. 

Operations, governance, resources, training, consolidation of a seamless customer omnichannel experience: should or can companies invest? Hyper-personalization and GDPR: are they walking hand in hand? Can customer satisfaction improve retention through the use of NFTs/Metaverse as well? 

“The important thing is not Technology in a standalone way: the choice of implemented tools is the point, prioritizing a direct, custom-made experience with the consumer”… 

Pablo Monge, Global Head of Digital Sales at Globant. 

Simplifying this highly complex ecosystem can unlock the potential of a blended online and offline experience in different industries like energy, telecoms, travel & hospitality plus financial services, among others: connecting data in a transformative way, maximizing their value with an extra effort  to better  communicate the end product to the receiver/customer is one of the essential challenges to face, especially in sectors like the automobile industry, ravaged by recession complications and an old-school sales approach.  

“Really Know-Your-Customer through integrated technology: For instance book a TestDrive using Data-Enabled Services before buying a new vehicle, adopted to your own needs and preferences.  Technology is the Enabler of hyper-personalized experiences through a unified 360 data model.” 

Dean Parker, Design Strategist at Clobant. 

The sales force suite can make use of data from Sales, Customer Services, Marketing and Business functions including Social Media platforms. If you need to organize your next electric car purchase in accordance with Colour & Trim from the print archive of your favourite modernist designer, a Holter monitor app for your suffering grandmother and a mini Metaverse studio with protected gaming-language learning Bank for your offspring, that should n’t be a problem anymore, (provided that along with purchase you also join a reward NFTs scheme: a Test-Drive simulator app for your 16yr old daughter if you live in the U.S, including a map of Recharge stations around your locality or county). 

Compliance with current GDPR regulations across countries is fundamental though. Consent management layers in exchange of every bit of data provided by the customer, is only a basic prerequisite for the whole experience to become sustainable. Even in major physical, global events like a football tournament, their augmented reality interpretation and transformation in multiplex digital environments like the Metaverse, demands an alignment of several technologies for ticketing, copyright protection and content distribution.  

Areas like energy, tourism and finance have been severely wounded by the post-pandemic crisis and the general transformation of the multi-leveled western markets structure to an homogenous sphere of activity, as it was originally introduced by FinTech startups and Crypto. Next step: buy what you need, when you need it, if you need it and make it uniquely specific to your profile only. The era of mass production comes almost to an end. 

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All the Best + Bloody More 

A4D-D4A💙💚🙌